"Where'd ya get those eyes?"

The title for this post is from a 1938 song written by Harry Warren with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, orignally sung by Louis Armstrong in the movie Going Places.  Mother used to sing this song.   "Jeepers, Creepers, where'd ya get those peepers.  Jeepers, Creepers, where'd ya get those eyes?"  Listen to this excellent rendition on youtube.  I found myself singing the jazz standard today after I logged onto FaceBook and discovered that friend DW had Photoshopped one of my favorite pics despite the fact that DMP blinked:

DW had used the quick selection tool to get those "peepers" and bit of the "cheaters" from another pose, copied it, pasted it onto this photo, moved it into position, deslected.  He said it took 2 minutes.  Golly, Gee!

So I just had to try it for myself.  One of the things I love about shooting digital rather than film is that there is no cost associated with a shot.  When I shoot a group, I take several 3-5 as quickly as I can shoot, hoping to catch a good one.  That usually works but sometimes the best pose of each person in the group is in a different shot.  This is a group shot of my cousin's family.  It was the best shot I got of the guys but E's eyes are closed.  M looks good but several folks preferred a shot where she was laughing.

Below is a demo.  I first retouched with the spot healer tool to remove a blemish or two.  Then I used the quick selection tool to open E's eyes just like DW had opened DMP's eyes.  It took me several attempts to master the quick selection tool.  Then I deselected. I could have stopped there but I thought it might be interesting to try a head replacement.  I found another shot where I selected the happier face for M. and used copy and paste to move it and deslected.  This demo shows the selections before they were moved into position.  It also helps if there is some clear edge marker to help position.  That little bit of white from M's collar was a big help.  The nose bridge of the glasses also helped.  (Remember I actually did this as a two-step process.) 

The photos need to be the same size, the same pose. A sequence of tripod shots, taken quickly before people had time to move their heads around, would be ideal. It's worth a try in any group that is not quite perfect if you remembered to snap several shots.

And I think you could use this application for insets and other "arty" things if you enjoy playing around.  I love it when I learn something new.  Thanks, DW

I use Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.

Family wedding photoshop

Just as I did, my niece selected the Saturday of Labor Day weekend for her wedding date. We made the trip to Clifton to chauffeur my parents to Fort Worth for the wedding. I took lots of photos and have played around with Adobe PhotoShop. All sides of our family have lots of blue eyes so all the red-eye needed fixing. All the auto-fix tools are helpful. I've found that cropping often improves a photo. I've also played around some with lighting and managed to recover a couple of shots where there wasn't any flash. I retouched a number of photos to remove a blemish here and there. Sometimes something in the background (a light switch or a sign for the restroom or just an inconvenient person or clutter ) messes up a really lovely shot.

Here are a couple of examples:

Note the messy background in the bride's dressing room. A black skirt is visible in the mirror but I've "erased" it from the background; the hanger is still visible.

Crop it and voila! a bridal portrait.

Everyone loved the way that V. looked at P. in this shot as they bid their wedding guests Aloha! before leaving for their Hawaiian honey moon. Too bad about the crowd of people and the cluttered background.

Crop it! Still we have the frowning man coming between them and the background clutter. Use the tools to erase the man and to reproduce the flowers in the head band and lei to fill in the area. Then add sparkle effects to conceal my amateur workmanship.

And never overlook the potential in changing to black and white.

My, how weddings and brides have changed!

Compare one of my bridal photos with those of niece V.

I'm the old-fashioned bride with my matron of honor, ACE.

And, remember, with PhotoShop every photo may be something less than the truth.